Collapsible baby pen



Jan. 6, 1953 T. c; PLANT COLLAESIBQLE BABY PEN Filed May 29, 1951 THOMAS G- PLANT INVEN TOR.

A TTO/PNBG Patented Jan. 6, 1953 UNITED STATES ENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in collapsible baby play pens of the type having foldable sides, constructed .on the lazy tong principle, and a body'of flexible material, such as any commercially available plastic material, having four vertical sides and a bottom side constructed and arranged to fit within the frame when the latter is in either expanded or contracted condition; and the same involves certain new and usefulimprovements over the collapsible baby pen forming the subject matter of application, Serial No. 686,898, filed by me in the Patent Office July 29, 1946, now abandoned, and entitled Collapsible baby pen."

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a pen of this kind which may be quickly assembled or set up in a condition for use and may be quickly collapsed, knocked down or disassembled into a compact condition and which, when in this latter condition, provides, through the medium of the frame part of the pen, a receptacle for the flexible body aforementioned, whereby the flexible body member is protected against injury when the pen is not in use, and the entire device readily transported or carried by a person through the medium of a shoulder sling.

The play pen of this invention comprises a novel combination and arrangement of unique and improved features which, together with the above and other objects of the invention, will be best appreciated when the following detailed description is read. with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein is illustrated what is presently considered a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible baby pen embodying the features of this inven tion, the same being in its set-up, unfolded condition, ready for use;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the collapsible baby pen, the same being shown in its collapsed or knocked down condition and with a shoulder sling associated therewith in the manner contemplated by this invention;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the frame of the collapsible baby pen, with the frame in its folded or contracted condition;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an upper corner member and the detail construction and manner of assembling the top rails with the upper corner member, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the detail construction and manner of assembling the sides of the frame with the lower corner members.

Fill

. Referring now in detail to the drawings, it Will be seen that the collapsible baby pen includes a foldable or collapsible frame the sides of "which, indicated by the reference numeral Ill, follow a standard lazy tong .construction made up of lazy tong elements or strips ll pivoted together in the usual manner.

At each of the four corners of the pen there are provided a lower or bottom corner member l2 and an upper or top corner member I3 to which are pivotally connected the otherwise free terminals of the strips II as at 14 and I5, respectively (see Figures 5 and 4).

The collapsible baby pen also includes a flexible body It (see Figure 1) preferably made of a foldable waterproof, transparent, plastic material, although it will be understood that the same may be made of any suitable flexible waterrepellent material. Such a body 16 has a plan area and a depth approximating the plan area and depth of the aforementioned foldable or collapsible frame, and comprises side walls I! and a bottom wall 18. Such body may be formed from a single piece of material or from one or more pieces suitably secured together as may be found desirable.

The upper margins of the walls I! are folded over and stitched to provide hems that accommodate rods [9. The rods I9 serve as top rails for the sides of the pen and are engageable with the corner members [3, in a manner present- 1y to be described, when the collapsible frame is in its set-up or unfolded condition.

The end of each rod or rail [9 is bifurcated as at 20 and the furcation thereof is bridged by a cross pin 2!, see Figure 4. As also shown in said figure, each flange of each upper corner member I3 is provided with a keyhole slot 22 and a re-entrant slot 23 that extends from the upper edge of the corner member downwardly to merge with the slot 22, with one edge of the slot 23 being at an incline or on a bias as shown to facilitate guiding the cross pin 2| into engagement with the keyhole slot 22 whereby a hooked engagement of an end of a rail IS with a flange of a corner member I3 may be readily and conveniently effected.

It will also be apparent that the rails 19 serve as stretcher bars or struts when the play pen is in the set-up or unfolded condition for use, shown in Figure 1; the rails 19 in such circumstances serving also to positively connect the flexible body it with the collapsible frame and to prevent the sides of the collapsible frame from accidentally collapsing.

The above-described detachable connection between the rails I9 and the corner members I3 constitute a very salient feature of this invention. Such a connection prevents disengagement of the rails I9 from the corner members I3 by a child, and yet at the same time such connections provide for locking the rails I9 in position when the play pen is set up for use so that a rigid structure is afforded which may be picked up and moved about without collapsing by itself.

At each of the four corners thereof, and adjacent the bottom, the flexible body member IB is provided with a tape or the like 24, the respective opposite ends of which tape are suitably secured to the vertical walls I I. These tapes form loops adapted to engage the strips I I in the manner shown in Figure 1 and thus serve to attach the body I 6 to the collapsible frame at the four corners and in the vicinity of the bottom of the flexible body member I6 and lower edge of the frame.

It will of course be understood that at the upper corners thereof the walls I! of the flexible body I6 may be suitably reinforced, as indicated generally at 21, and that also the upper edges of the walls Il may, if desired, be stapled or otherwise more or less permanently secured to the rails, as shown (see Figure 4).

To knock down the pen, the loops 24 are first disengaged from the collapsible frame after which the ends of the rails I9 are disengaged from the corner members I 3. The flexible body member I6 is then removed from within the confines of the collapsible frame, and the latter then collapsed or contracted in order to form a diminished rectangle (Figure 3). The flexible body member I6 is also reduced to a roll and in this rolled form threaded or placed within the collapsed frame and thus the entire device is reduced to a small, neat, compact condition. The adjustable loops .25 of a shoulder sling 26, which may be formed of the same material as that from which the flexible body I6 is fabricated, are then slipped over the ends of the collapsed assembly and contracted thereabout. The device is now in a condition to be readily slung over the shoulder and in this manner easily carried about. It will also be apparent that the sling 26 forms a very efficient means for securing the parts of the play pen in the assembled collapsed condition so that it can be 4 readily stored and carried in an automobile or other vehicle, without taking up much space.

It will also be apparent that the present invention provides a play pen which may be quickly assembled or set up for use and quickly collapsed and reduced to a compact condition, and one which when set up provides a rigid and stable enclosure which may be used at beaches, picnic grounds, in the nursery and elsewhere either as a play pen or as a crib, and when used as a crib protects the child-occupant against drafts and dirt.

While the invention has been described in detail in its presently preferred embodiment, it will, of course, be understood that such has been done for purposes of illustration only and not by way of limitation, and therefore only such limitations are to be imposed thereon as may reasonably come within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A collapsible play pen having sides comprising lazy tongs, upper and lower corner pieces pivotally attached to the sides to hold them together for varying areas delineated by the frame, top rails for the sides, each of the top rails having bifurcated ends and cross pins bridging the furcations, and each of the upper corner pieces being provided with a keyhole slot to receive the cross pin at the end of one of the rails, and a re-entrant slot extending inwardly from one edge of the corner piece to the keyhole slot.

2. A collapsible play pen having sides comprising lazy tongs, upper and lower corner pieces pivotally attached to the sides to hold them together, top rails for the sides, and each of the upper corner pieces being detachably engaged with adjacent top rails.

THOMAS G. PLANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 279,393 Knapp June 12, 1883 2,119,387 Harvey May 31, 1938 2,287,907 Schettler June 30, 1942 2,448,237 Sole Aug. 31, 1948 

